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[Valo gives a quiet ruff as if to not want to disturb Eustace before he hops onto the bed with ease and quickly circles and nestles in on Eustace's side, giving Eustace a few licks on his chin before his nose lightly nudges the arm. Although Eustace frowns a little, the arm does raise slightly, as if naturally assuming the position of holding Valo. There's a small tail wag as the dog cuddles in, as if relieved to see that part is still normal.

And he'll remain that way even after Ilsa leaves and returns.]

[She leaves Eustace in Valo's care, though not for long. She returns with a large glass of water and a cool, damp cloth. She brushes back Eustace's hair, her fingers lingering on the thick white strands as she looks him over. She has no idea if he's asleep or aware of what's going on, just too tired to do much, but it doesn't stop her from examining him more closely, allowing her fingers to comb over his ears before she sets the cloth on his forehead.

To Valo, she gives a smile.]

You take good care of him. Thank you for coming to me today. [A dry laugh.] I'm not sure what he would have done without me, huh?

[Valo's tail wags a little as he watches Ilsa before settling in again. Eustace remains unconscious, but his body does react a little to her touch, his ears twitching a little and his brow furrowing at the cloth with a slight murmur before relaxing. Although still feverish, he's otherwise calmed.]

Hmm... You’re conscious, at least.

[Ilsa’s eyes linger on his ear when it twitches, and she’s almost tempted to do it again—to see what would happen if she touched it just a little more firmly. She doesn’t, not wanting to wake him, and Valo watching her suddenly makes her very, very aware of those thoughts, so she instead sits down at the edge of the bed beside him.

There’s silence, the room... her whole house going quiet, oddly so after all of the chaos from earlier that morning. It’s not a bad kind, and she’s feeling rather thankful for it, but it does make her pause to think when all of those thoughts and memories come rushing forward again.

Things that she’s trying so hard to suppress instead.

To distract herself, she continues to watch Eustace, adjusting the cloth on his head when it starts to slip or brushing away the hair on his face when it falls in a slightly awkward way. She can’t help think about how innocent he looks like this—how the strong, stoic man that she knows could become so harmless when he’s asleep. It’s... cute...

And as that thought occurs to her and turns her cheeks a bright shade of pink, she catches sight of the light scarring around his covered eye. He always keeps it concealed behind his hair, and she knows very little of the nature behind its injury... But...

Leaning forward over him, ignoring the odd stare that Valo is giving her, Ilsa pushes back that side of his hair to look. The scars are light and faded but still visible under a careful, observant gaze, and she leans in just a little closer to get a look. Close enough that her hair tickles his face as it tumbles over her shoulder...

[At first there isn't much reaction from him. But it's the tickling of her hair against his face and near his nose that finally pulls him out of the dregs of sleep. His head still feels heavy and his mind isn't really thinking coherently.

Where was he?

What happened?

He can barely remember anything, stuck between sleep and awake, so when he slowly opens his eyes and he sees Ilsa so close to his face...

...

Is he dreaming? Why is she so close...

So for those first initial moments, he'll just be staring up at her in a daze, unable to properly process or think about what's happening.]

[The moment he opens his eyes, Ilsa’s hand in his hair seizes up. For a moment, as her mind registers what she’s doing and the fact that he’s awake while she’s doing it, all she can do is stare right back into those blue eyes of his, so much closer than she remembers them being now that their open and gazing up at her, and looking just as confused as she feels.

What is she doing!? What the hell was she thinking, getting this up close and personal with Eustace!?

Her whole face turns the deepest shade of red that could put the colour of her eyes to shame, and she suddenly snaps back with an awkward cross between a frantic gasp and a yelp escaping her.]

Ah—! I wasn’t looking at anything!

[???]

[?????

There's a wince at the sudden loud shout and even Valo flinches a little in surprise as they both watch her retreat back.]

What...?

[He tries to sit up, one hand going to where she had touched him still confused, but that ends up being a bad idea and he ends up leaning his head forward into his hand with a small groan instead, the pounding in his head worsening.]

[Ah... did he not hear her? A blessing if so, the words had come spilling out of her in a panic that she doesn't even know why she said it.

...

Or why she felt compelled to do what she did.

But when Eustace tries to sit up, she leans to him again, pressing a hand to his chest to try forcing him back down, her voice sharp and scolding in spite of how red her face still is.]

Make sure you rest. You have a small fever.

Fever...

[Just a low mumble as he allows himself to fall back.

...

Only to realize—]

...Where's my shirt? And... Why am I...?

[Did he really forget? No, he actually does remember a few things, but it's coming in bits and pieces. Really it's probably not a good idea for him to try to figure things out with his head pounding as hard as it is, the pain visible from how he continues to grimace and press his palm against his temple.]

[Ilsa's brow scrunches.]

Wait, do you not remember?

[There's no way that he doesn't recall everything that's happened. Was he really so enchanted and drunk that blacking out has erased... all of it? Somehow, that's a blessing, but also, why does she feel such a knot in her stomach? Is it disappointment? Relief? Anger? Guilt? She doesn't know, but she's not going to answer him just yet.]

No... I'm not sure...

[Another hiss.]

Sorry, my head...

[Does she really have to be the one to tell him...]

You removed your shirt of your own accord.

[It's technically the truth. He was the one who slipped it up over his head, but Ilsa never stopped him. Only encouraged him... and the thought has her clearing her throat, as well as Valo making a low, dubious noise at the both of them.]

I left it in the living room, but don't worry about it right now.

[A low hum as he stares up at her. More things are starting to come to mind... But it's all out of order and he's not sure if that's better or worse. He also still feels strange like...]

...Ugh... I feel like my head is being split into two...

[The enchantment probably isn't normally meant to be like this, but it probably didn't factor him getting drunk off his ass, either. His normal self vs. the change from the magic with the drinks on top of it all...]

Save it for tomorrow.

[That grumpiness sounds like his usual self...

...

As does him trying to stand again.]

Save what—I said stop it.

[Ilsa pushes him back down again, this time with more force, and she won't stop until his head is back on her pillow.]

Don't make me knock you over the head with Nybeth to get you to sleep. I'd say you deserve some of it for getting drunk off your ass, but... [It mostly isn't his fault. Well, okay, the drinking definitely was, but would he have done it if he were himself? Doubtful.] You can stay here for as long as you need, until your head no longer feels like it's going to crack like a coconut.

[Just another groan and then a more annoyed hiss that definitely sounds more like himself.]

I've already caused you enough problems... I don't remember all of it yet, but don't need it all to know.

[He's here in her bed, clearly drunk and...something else.

...And he also feels terrible about it as a wave of remorse floods him, and a hand goes to cover his face.]

...Ugh...so pathetic...

[Yep.

The magic is certainly fading away, but it's lingering a little.]

It's no trouble.

[And Ilsa doesn't disagree... and she may have given a small nod and a hum of affirmation to that sentiment. Yeah, just a little pathetic... but she won't say that out loud. She respects him enough to not wound his pride any more than it already has been.

But it does beg the question, and she will ask it very carefully—]

What do you remember? Before you blacked out on my couch.

[On top of her..... with his hands up her shirt..........]

Remember...

[His voice is low and sluggish, his hand still covering his eyes.]

I remember... Us... Your hands...

...

[And that's it because he fell asleep again.]

[...

....

Did he...? Just fall asleep? On her again?

She isn't sure if she should be relieved or annoyed by it. On one hand, maybe it's better that they skip all that awkward conversation, but on the other... this is the second time he's done it today!!! And at the most inopportune, frustrating times! She's trying to figure out what to do next, and here he goes dozing off.]

Tch. Well, not much to be done about it.

[It's more said to herself and to Valo before she moves around to the other side of the bed to slump down with Valo between them, and she addresses the dog when he looks at her.]

Just for a few minutes.

[And she closes her eyes.

...

....

....

But those few minutes turn into several more, and then it turns into an hour, and then a few hours... and then several more....

Until it's already dark out by the time she even stirs.]

Edited 2023-05-16 02:26 (UTC)

[Eustace remains completely out of it, both his mind and body exhausted from the double whammy of the enchantment and the alcohol. Valo does eye Ilsa a little questioningly... But he just snugs close to Eustace to give her some more room.

...

Until at some point the dog feels a bit crowded between the two of them. Eustace had fully turned to hug him as usual, but it also meant being a little cramped. With a little grumble, he slips out from under Eustace's arms and moves to the other side of his legs where he curls up much more comfortably.

However, the movement had roused Eustace just enough to notice that Valo had moved, but not enough to notice anything else. It's not the first time and if the dog wants to move that's fine, but he makes a half-hearted attempt to find him again. That's when his hand reaches out and touches something warm and soft...

...And immediately pulls the body towards him, face immediately nuzzling the back of the neck with a deep exhale. It's been a long day...he's tired... He just wants to hug his dog for comfort.

Unfortunately.

That's not his dog.

Nor is that a dog's waist his arm is wrapped around nor his dog's hair that he's unconsciously nuzzling into, the sweet scent pulling him in further.]

[For Ilsa, it had been the exhaustion of running around and worrying that made her doze off as hard as she did. She only wanted to close her eyes for a few minutes, to rest her own aching head for a moment before she went to prepare some soup or something for him... or bananas... she has plenty of those, but the call of the bed had called to her. It's not even that comfortable, but it had been too enticing to resist, and sooner than later, she'd completely fallen asleep.

And is still only slightly aware of what's going on. She hadn't noticed that Eustace had wrapped his arms around her, and she's yet to realize that that's his nose nuzzled into her hair, but...

...

Still too sleepy to wake up. So, instead, she turns around to face the other way—to face him—and curls up against him instead, not even questioning the new warmth that she's found (yet) but rather, inviting it.]

[By the time she turns around he's back to deep asleep. Normally he's a lot more alert and would notice such movements, but it's just proving how exhausted he is to not notice the change, his arm instead curling more around her as his chin naturally tucks over her head.

And that's how they will be until Ilsa wakes up first.]

[It's the press of something on top of her head that has Ilsa sleepily questioning things first. Her face scrunches and her ears twitch at the breath that tickles it. She's completely forgotten in her exhaustion-induced slumber that Valo and Eustace are still here, so the fact that there's anything blowing on top of her head at all is... strange to her.

Her legs stretch out and she makes a small noise of contentment, and odd as it is at first, it does feel nice. It's so warm, but so sturdy as her hands travel around his waist and up his back... Ah, she must be dreaming...

Dreaming of a strong man laying here next to her. Of a man who holds her with such conviction and devotion, just like they do in all those books that she's read. One who keeps in good shape, too, judging by the curves of his sculpted muscles beneath her fingertips, and she presses a little more firmly.

...?

But then she feels something wet pressing to her fingers. Something wet and soft licking at them, and then a whine...

......???

Before Ilsa finally opens her eyes.

...............

And it dawns on her.

.........................

Immediately, she pushes back with a yelp, hard enough to send Eustace rolling over.]

[It's when Ilsa starts touching him that he frowns a little... But he's used to Valo sometimes bumping into him. Except... This feels different? But it's not until Ilsa yelps that his eyes snap open in time to find himself staring up at the ceiling as he's rolling off the bed, Valo also yelping as he quickly jumps out of the way in time everyone to hear the loud THUD as Eustace lands hard onto the floor.

And just.

Lies there stunned, one leg still partially hooked over the bed as he lies on the ground on his back with his eyes just staring up into the ceiling momentarily dazed before Valo quickly comes over to lick him.]

—! Hang on—Valo—

[His head is hurting again for a different reason ow.]

[She really hadn't meant to push so hard but hearing him fall over on the bed has her crawling to the other side to check on him to make sure that he's alright first, but Valo seems to already have that taken care of.

So, instead...]

How long were you holding me like that!? Save those cuddles for your dog.

[IGNORING THAT SHE WAS LITERALLY JUST FONDLING HIS MUSCLES, OKAY...]

What are you talking about?? Who was I holding?

[Just a frosty glare up at her.]

And who was the one touching who, huh?

[Well.

At least it's a sign that he's back to normal.]

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